Wound dressings are typically flat structures with limited flexibility. This may give rise to challenges when the dressing has to be applied to a protruding body part such as fingertips, knuckles, elbows or knees. The dressing may easily wrinkle at the edges, and discomfort due to the limited flexibility may occur. Prior art solutions involves using softer adhesives, thereby often compromising the absorption properties of the dressing, thinner dressings, compromising cushioning effect of the dressing, as well as tailor made shapes for the particular application or pattern of indentations in the adhesive.
Limited moisture handling may give rise to maceration of the skin. To overcome maceration, CMC based hydrocolloid particles or other absorbing materials may be compounded into the adhesive matrix. Another way to overcome such limitations with respect to moisture handling is inclusion of various patterns that could limit material thickness in certain areas, hence improving moisture throughput of the entire dressing. Both solutions, however, also have some limitations themselves; a hydrocolloid dressing will delay water uptake due to the nature of such compounded systems, where availability of the water handling particles might be buried deep in the hydrophobic matrix. Pattern structure may solve some of such issues; however manufacturing might be complicated and time consuming due to discontinuous step process.